Orange-&-Pistachio Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Orange-&-Pistachio Crusted Pork Tenderloin

5 Reviews

From: EatingWell Magazine, January/February 2015

Sweet orange marmalade and salty pistachios make a delicious crust for lean pork tenderloin in this healthy dinner recipe. Easy to make, this pork recipe is also very versatile. Other jams, such as fig, raspberry or apricot, and other nuts, such as almonds, hazelnuts or pecans are great for the crust too.

Season pork with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the pork until browned on all sides, 4 to 6 minutes total. Remove from the heat. Brush the top of the pork with orange marmalade then top with the pistachio mixture. Transfer the pan to the center of the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the pork registers 145°F, 12 to 16 minutes. Remove to a clean cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes before carefully slicing (slowly to help keep the pistachio crust on each slice).

Meanwhile, toss green beans in a large bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, lemon zest and ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Roast on the lower rack until tender-crisp and browned in spots, about 10 minutes. Serve the pork with the wild rice blend and the green beans.

Cut Down on Dishes: A rimmed baking sheet is great for everything from roasting to catching accidental drips and spills. For effortless cleanup and to keep your baking sheets in tip-top shape, line them with a layer of foil before each use.

Reviews 5

Perfect for everyone
We all enjoyed this meal and cook it several times a month.
Even my husband who doesnt like healthy food cant get enough.
I find it tastes best fresh rather than as a left over. The cooking directions vary from each stove , oven and skillet you use. I think this meal is best suited to someone who has cooking experience and can tell when the pork has been seared long enough and baked long enough as you dont want to under cook pork.

February 10, 2015

By: EatingWell User

Delicious and Simple
I made this for dinner tonight, and everyone loved it. My only complaint is that the recipe states that after browning the roast you simply cook it at 450 degrees for 12-16 minutes. There's no way it's going to get done in that amount of time. After it had cooked for about 15 minutes at 450, I reduced the oven temp to 250 and let it sit in there for another 50 minutes. It was perfectly juicy on the inside and crunchy on the outside and so worth the wait!
Pros: easy to prepare

February 04, 2015

By: EatingWell User

Dangerous Temperature for Pork Consumption
Pork should not be consumed at an internal temperature of 145, I couldn't even believe Eating Well suggested that! Also, it took much longer to even reach 145 degrees than the 16 minutes the recipe suggests.
I ended up cooking the pork until the internal temperature reached to 165 and I let it rest on a cutting board with foil loosely covering it for 5 minutes and the pork reached 170 degrees which is a perfect cook on pork. Once it was fully done it was delicious, the cooking time was about 35 minutes in the oven. Since it took so long I think I would cook it half way in the oven without the marmalade and pistachio mixture covering it and then put that on the last 15 minutes or so because the nuts were pretty burnt.
Will make this again with modifications, but it is not as simple and quick as it looks!
Pros: Good flavors, tender pork, light dinner
Cons: Takes MUCH longer to reach a safe temperature for consumption than suggested in recipe

January 17, 2015

By: Karin Anderson

Wonderful crusty pork - the side needs improvement
We LOVED the orange and pistachio/garlic crusted pork tenderloin! The barley and wild rice side dish was a bit bland, otherwise I would have given the dish an awesome rating. It could have benefited from a flavorful drizzle (like the lemon/maple one from the Salmon with Roasted Vegetables and Quinoa recipe).
Pros: Delicious pork flavor
Cons: Bland barley/rice side

January 14, 2015

By: EatingWell User

This was pretty good, but I think if I were to make this again I'd skip the browning step and pop the coated meat directly in the oven as this has worked just fine for other similar recipes I've made in the past. This also keeps me from doing the inevitable whenever I use an oven safe skillet - touching the super hot handle once the pan is out of the oven (I've since taken to sticking an oven mitt over the handle once the pan's out to 1) remind me not to burn my hand on the hot handle 2) keep me from being burned anyway if I automatically reach for it to move it out of the way.
We used a fig jam that, even slightly heated for better spreading probably should've been chopped up a bit as it contained large fruit pieces that were hard to spread about on top (the marmalade we had on hand was also really chunky). Also used toasted pecans. Alternatively, I'd butterfly the tenderloin and spread the topping inside as a kind of jellyroll filling, rolling the meat up and tying it together. I got the idea from my mother who's butterflied pork tenderloin for years usually stuffing it with torn bread, dried fruits (usually apricots and cranberry), pecans ground ginger, sage, bit of onion, salt and pepper wetted with butter or maybe broth. Hers isn't really a jelly roll, just a couple of tenderloins tied around the stuffing. Not sure how Eating Well approved that recipe might be, but I suspect with the right combo of bread, fruits, moisture, etc. (and portioning lol) it would